Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.
Swedish Prime Minister to be quizzed by parliament committee
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is set to appear before the Swedish parliament’s Committee on the Constitution over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic today.
It comes as part of an inquiry launched by an opposition politician to investigate the Swedish pandemic strategy and crisis management, and several key figures have already been questioned, among others the heads of the Public Health Agency, National Board of Health and Welfare, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Health Minister Lena Hallengren and Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg. You will be able to watch Löfven’s hearing online (in Swedish) HERE. It is scheduled to start at 1pm.
Swedish vocabulary: inquiry – utredning
Sweden Democrats: No benefits to non-Swedish citizens
Anti-immigration opposition party the Sweden Democrats have proposed that only Swedish citizens should be entitled to certain benefits, such as child allowance, the minimum parental benefits for people on low incomes, and guarantee pensions.
The proposals are part of the party’s budget proposal, which will not win more votes in parliament than the Social Democrat-Green government’s budget proposal, so it should rather be seen as an overview of the party’s budget goals if it were in a decision-making position.
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson has also told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper that he thinks only Swedish citizens should be allowed to vote in elections (today, only citizens can vote in the national election, but all residents can vote in regional and local elections).
Swedish vocabulary: child allowance – barnbidrag
Faster trains between Stockholm and Oslo?
Swedish Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth tweeted last week that he had had a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Knut Arild Hareide about creating a fast-train link between Stockholm and Oslo.
It currently takes five hours to travel between the Scandinavian capitals by train. Some parts of the current railway would have to be upgraded to allow for a faster connection.
Swedish vocabulary: fast train – snabbtåg
Idag har jag samtalat med Knut Arild Hareide, Norges Samferdselsminister, om stärkta förbindelser mellan Stockholm-Oslo. Sverige och Norge har alltid haft ett gott samarbete. Nu vill vi titta på möjliga vägar framåt för Stockholm-Oslo. 🇳🇴🇸🇪 https://t.co/CRxnC6cjbj
— Tomas Eneroth (@TomasEneroth) April 23, 2021
Örnsköldsvik closes high schools after coronavirus outbreak
The Västernorrland region in northern Sweden is currently one of the worst-hit regions in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic, with 654 cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days, according to the Economist. The city of Örnsköldsvik last week decided to switch to online teaching for all students over the age of 13.
“When remote teaching was recommended during the first wave we ignored it. We didn’t have any spread of infection then,” Örnsköldsvik mayor Magnus Haglund told the Aftonbladet newspaper on Monday. But Västernorrland and many other regions have been hit much harder by the third wave, although it varies across Sweden.
Swedish vocabulary: school – skola
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Swedish Prime Minister to be quizzed by parliament committee
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is set to appear before the Swedish parliament’s Committee on the Constitution over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic today.
It comes as part of an inquiry launched by an opposition politician to investigate the Swedish pandemic strategy and crisis management, and several key figures have already been questioned, among others the heads of the Public Health Agency, National Board of Health and Welfare, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Health Minister Lena Hallengren and Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg. You will be able to watch Löfven’s hearing online (in Swedish) HERE. It is scheduled to start at 1pm.
Swedish vocabulary: inquiry – utredning
Sweden Democrats: No benefits to non-Swedish citizens
Anti-immigration opposition party the Sweden Democrats have proposed that only Swedish citizens should be entitled to certain benefits, such as child allowance, the minimum parental benefits for people on low incomes, and guarantee pensions.
The proposals are part of the party’s budget proposal, which will not win more votes in parliament than the Social Democrat-Green government’s budget proposal, so it should rather be seen as an overview of the party’s budget goals if it were in a decision-making position.
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson has also told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper that he thinks only Swedish citizens should be allowed to vote in elections (today, only citizens can vote in the national election, but all residents can vote in regional and local elections).
Swedish vocabulary: child allowance – barnbidrag
Faster trains between Stockholm and Oslo?
Swedish Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth tweeted last week that he had had a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Knut Arild Hareide about creating a fast-train link between Stockholm and Oslo.
It currently takes five hours to travel between the Scandinavian capitals by train. Some parts of the current railway would have to be upgraded to allow for a faster connection.
Swedish vocabulary: fast train – snabbtåg
Idag har jag samtalat med Knut Arild Hareide, Norges Samferdselsminister, om stärkta förbindelser mellan Stockholm-Oslo. Sverige och Norge har alltid haft ett gott samarbete. Nu vill vi titta på möjliga vägar framåt för Stockholm-Oslo. 🇳🇴🇸🇪 https://t.co/CRxnC6cjbj
— Tomas Eneroth (@TomasEneroth) April 23, 2021
Örnsköldsvik closes high schools after coronavirus outbreak
The Västernorrland region in northern Sweden is currently one of the worst-hit regions in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic, with 654 cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days, according to the Economist. The city of Örnsköldsvik last week decided to switch to online teaching for all students over the age of 13.
“When remote teaching was recommended during the first wave we ignored it. We didn’t have any spread of infection then,” Örnsköldsvik mayor Magnus Haglund told the Aftonbladet newspaper on Monday. But Västernorrland and many other regions have been hit much harder by the third wave, although it varies across Sweden.
Swedish vocabulary: school – skola
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